


le Mal du Siècle (The Pain of the Century)

by faustianmerman



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, F/M, Feels, Human Names Used, Implied Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-09 15:12:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4353833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faustianmerman/pseuds/faustianmerman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeanne was so good to him, so loyal and caring, and this is how he repaid her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	le Mal du Siècle (The Pain of the Century)

**Author's Note:**

> heyo, have some history feels! also, I apologize for inaccuracies, any OOC-ness, etc etc.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. A few yards in front of him, lay the scene of his Jeanne being tied to the pillar--being prepared for her execution. How could this happen? How could he let it get this way? His eyes followed as she spoke to two of the clergy who were present, observing as they held a crucifix before her and soon a nameless English soldier came into view and put another crucifix that he had fashioned on the front of her dress. Then, a torch was lowered to the kindling that lay at her feet, and Francis could only watch in horror as his love was set ablaze.

He couldn’t move, or yell out, but he tried--oh did he try! The sound of her screams and cries echoed throughout his ears as he choked out sobs, his heart heavy and stomach in knots. And as he cried, he failed to notice the lack of her voice in the air. He failed to witness the exact moment of her passing--and in retrospect, he was glad he missed it, because he might have lost all sense of sanity if he _watched_ the light leave her eyes. Somehow he found himself on the ground, having collapsed at some point, and he craned his head up for just a moment before he looked away again as more hot tears fell from his eyes.

Jeanne was so good to him, so loyal and caring, and _this_ is how he repaid her? He couldn’t protect her from the English, despite how hard he tried. She deserved so much more! She deserved to live, to be happy, to be _honored_. Francis wailed, though none of the witnesses noticed him. His hands slamming into the ground repeatedly as he dwelled on how powerless he was to help her in her time of need. She was so young, almost _nineteen_ , this wasn’t fair…

Eventually the spectacle was over, and all who were there to witness had dispersed. It was just him and those who were involved in Jeanne’s execution. Somehow he managed the strength to get up and stagger over to her charred corpse where he collapsed once again, shielding it with his own body. Francis whispered--his voice raw from his earlier cries of agony, to his beloved Jeanne, begging for forgiveness and apologizing for all that had happened. He promised her that her death was not meaningless, that she would be _remembered_ and _revered_.

And before she was physically taken from him to be disposed of, he breathed one last vow:

_“We will reunite someday. And you will get the life you deserve.”_

Francis would never forgive Arthur for this.


End file.
